Ottawa Senators vs Boston Bruins: Bears beat a league underdog

Prediction for the NHL Ottawa Senators vs Boston Bruins match, which will take place on February 12. Check the team conditions and choose several betting options.

Ottawa has had another disappointing regular season, with no chance of making the playoffs again. The Senators have some excellent games from time to time, but they still lose more often than they win from a distance. In the last five meetings, D.J. Smith's team is in good shape, as evidenced by their three losses. Before that, there were several long-term bad streaks, and the day before, they suffered an upsetting 0:2 loss to Pittsburgh, so currently, the Red and Black are content with only the 14th place in the Eastern Conference standings.

Boston is having a surprisingly weak regular season. We're all used to the Bears always looking good, making the playoffs early, but now they're struggling to meet that challenge. The Yellow and Black seemed to be in good form before the break, claiming nine wins in 13 meetings, but the week-long break threw them off their successful run. Bruce Cassidy's men lost to Pittsburgh and Carolina in their last two games, 2:4 and 0:6, respectively. Boston currently sits just eighth in the Eastern Conference standings.

Boston is a much higher level team than Ottawa, but the Bears are approaching this game in poor condition, having lost their previous two games by a combined score of 2:10. Fortunately, Bruce Cassidy's men have always played great against the Senators, winning 11 of their last 12 head-to-head encounters. And now, Yellow and Black are the clear favourites. In addition, their attitude will be excessive because they might leave the playoffs if they continue to lose points. As a result, we suggest betting on Boston to win for 1.58.

Boston and Ottawa are two teams that do not mind playing bright and attacking hockey, but they are increasingly playing close games between them. The statistics confirm this, with only 34 goals against (4.86 goals per game average) in their previous seven head-to-head encounters, which is respectably low for an NHL team. Right now, the Bears are not capable of playing outstanding, entertaining games, and for the Senators to play openly against such a formidable opponent would be suicide. That's why we suggest betting on a total under 5.5 for 2.035.

Charlie McAvoy is Boston's most creative and dangerous defender. The defenseman gets plenty of playing time on the power play and can also play offensively in the 5-on-5 format. In the regular season, the 24-year-old has already recorded 42 points (7 goals + 21 assists) while progressing from game to game, becoming more and more active in the opponent's zone. With that in mind, we suggest betting on Charlie McAvoy Total Over 0.5 for 5.